Suing Big Pharma for the Opioid Epidemic Is Too Little, Too Late

Big Pharma and Big Tobacco may sound like the same kind of villain, but there are key differences

In 1964, the surgeon general released a landmark report linking tobacco to lung cancer and other deadly diseases. Thirty years later, more than 40 states filed Medicaid and class action lawsuits against the four big tobacco companies, notoriously known as the “majors”—Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, to name a couple—seeking relief for harms smoking caused citizens. The surgeon general’s report, along with leaked internal memos showing tobacco companies had vast knowledge of peddling a dangerous and addictive product, laid the framework for a strong legal case.

And we all know how that went. Known as the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, the landmark 1997 verdict required Big Tobacco to pay $368 billion over the next 25 years. The humongous sum — still being paid out to this day — was slated to cover the costs of treating smoking-related illness, fund nationwide anti-smoking campaigns, and support health care for millions of uninsured children. Twenty years later, the national smoking rate has plunged to historic lows, with only 15 percent of adults still smoking. The ongoing tragedy, however, is that smoking prevalence among low-educated…